Success will be ‘soon’ if Ukraine keeps its progress, EU’s von der Leyen says

Ukraine has made impressive progress in implementing the reforms needed to join the European Union, European commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.

• Subscribe to LIGA.net in English on Twitter

Speaking on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuanian, Ms von der Leyen noted an ‘amazing’ speed at which Ukraine is advancing in the EU membership.

"It’s impressive," she was quoted by Lithuanian broadcaster LRT as saying. "We see the enthusiasm and intensity with which Ukraine is reforming and that’s advancing rapidly towards EU membership."

"I am very confident that if they keep … their speed, that success will be there soon," she added.

The EU commission president is taking part in a meeting with NATO leaders and partners as part of the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital.

Ukraine was granted EU candidate status last year, but it has to carry out reforms before it can start formal accession negotiations.

Ukraine’s publicly declared aim is to start accession talks by the end of the year and to fulfil all the necessary conditions for EU membership in two years, something that experts believe is overambitious and rather unlikely.